Arun roused from his slumber, feeling his surroundings whirling like a never-ending treadmill.
His head throbbed as he struggled to gather his senses, but eventually, he regained his bearings and readied himself to face the day.
In the midst of his disorientation, Shreya appeared before him with a glass of water. "Here, take this," she offered, her voice calm and soothing.
"Hey there, kiddo," Arun said, his tone infused with compassion. "How are you doing?"
Shreya regarded him with a smile, grateful for his concern. "I'm doing just fine, thank you for asking,"
"I think I should head to my office," Arun said, realizing the urgency of his situation. "And where is your mother?"
"She's already left for work, but she made you breakfast," Shreya replied, her voice ringing with kindness.
Despite the rush, Arun took the time to enjoy the meal that Shreya's mother had prepared. It was the least he could do to show his appreciation for their hospitality.
"Do you live alone?" Shreya inquired, her curiosity piqued by the lone figure before her.
"Yes, I do," his voice tinged with a hint of sadness.
"What about your family?"
A shadow seemed to pass over Arun's face at the question. "My family is gone," Arun continued, sensing her unease.
"Where did they go?" Shreya asked, her tone turning serious.
An unrepentant laugh escaped Arun's lips. "I don't know, kid," he said. "Tell me about your father. Where is he?"
Shreya hesitated for a moment before replying, "He's currently in jail."
"Why?" Arun asked, his compassion evident in his tone.
"He used to beat my mother," Shreya replied, her voice cracking with emotion. "One night, he came home, drunk and started fighting with her. He began to hit her continuously, her head starts bleeding, so I called the police. They arrived and took him away."
Arun looked at Shreya with deep admiration. "You did a great job," he said, his voice filled with gratitude for the young girl's bravery.
As Arun prepared to depart, he turned to Shreya with gratitude in his heart. "Thank you for everything, kiddo," he said. "And thanks for the gift. Even though the wristwatch you gave me didn't fit my hand, it was really nice of you. Just wait, I'll have a surprise for you too."
As Arun set out on his journey, Shreya waved goodbye, her small hand disappearing behind the door.
But Arun's mind was not at ease.
He received a flurry of calls about the suspect's constant demands, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the events of the previous night.
The old man's words had left a deep impression on him, causing his mind to race with questions.
Could anyone possess the kind of powers the old man had demonstrated? Could anyone be trusted completely?
Lost in his thoughts, Arun suddenly looked up and around him.
The streets were eerily silent, the once-bustling park where children used to play was now abandoned, and the tea stall where old folks laughed and talked for hours was deserted.
The dogs in the neighborhood were barking incessantly, and even the pet animals behaved strangely.
The city had changed since the discovery of those corpses.
The dark forces that lurked beneath the surface were becoming more apparent, and the people were beginning to feel their presence.
Arun realized that he was in the midst of something much bigger than himself, something that had the power to change the course of his life and the lives of those around him.
Arun entered the interrogation room, Chief Nitin and other officers continuously asking him questions but Arun's mind was completely focused on that man.
As everyone obediently left the room at the man's demand, Arun stood in front of him, and the man greeted him with a show of great respect.
"Welcome, officer," the man greeted Arun with a confidence that bordered on arrogance. "Look how I made you famous," he added, a smug smile spreading across his face.
Arun's frustration boiled over at the man's audacity. He delivered a hard punch to the man's face, sending him crashing to the ground. "What do you want?" he shouted at him.
The man laughed maniacally, even after taking such a brutal hit. It was clear to Arun that this man was dangerous, perhaps even insane.
Arun turned to fetch the chair, but before he could even take a step, the man spoke, his tone laced with a sinister hint of amusement.
"Here's your watch, officer!" he said, holding out a wristwatch towards Arun.
Arun was taken aback, his eyes fixed on the watch in the man's hand. It was the very same watch he had left in his car before entering the department.
Confused and disoriented, he struggled to process how this guy could have obtained it.
"How is this possible?" Arun asked, his mind racing with questions.
He knew with certainty that he had left the watch in the drawer of his car, yet there it was, held out to him by this man who seemed to be toying with him.
A chill ran down Arun's spine as he began to realize the gravity of the situation. Something was off about this man, something that defied all rational explanation.
Arun knew that he needed to tread carefully, for he was dealing with a force that was far beyond his understanding.
A sudden realization appeared in his mind as he begins to understand
As Arun tried to piece together the threads of his thoughts, he confronted the mysterious man who had been watching him. "So you're the one who's been keeping an eye on me," he said, suspicion and curiosity battling in his mind. "What do you want from me, and who the hell are you?"
The man looked at him calmly, his eyes seeming to hold a pearl of deep and ancient wisdom.
"You see!, officer," he said, "The time, we think of it as linear, moving forward in a straight line from the past to the future. But in reality, time is much more complex than that. It's like this wristwatch," he continued, holding up his arm to show Arun. "A circular loop that continuously rotates in a never-ending cycle."
Arun was intrigued by the man's words, though he didn't fully understand their meaning.
He listened intently as the man expounded on his theories of time and space, of the hidden dimensions that lay beyond the bounds of human perception.
For a moment, he forgot about everything and allowed himself to be swept up in the man's strange and wondrous ideas.
But even as he listened, a nagging feeling of unease began to grow within him.
"My name is Rudra and I was sent to protect you and keep you safe" The man claimed himself as a protector of Arun.
Arun's mind was in a state of utter confusion as he tried to comprehend Rudra's words.
Arun was taken aback by Rudra's words.
He had so many questions and no idea where to begin. "What do you mean, 'keep me safe'? From who?" he asked.
As the lights flickered, an earthquake shook the entire building, causing chaos to erupt.
The flickering lights signaled the onset of another earthquake, shaking the entire building and causing chaos to erupt.
Panic spread among the officers as they scrambled to exit the building.
Amit knocked on the door, his concern for Arun's safety evident.
As Arun turned to answer, Rudra spoke words that left him frozen in shock, causing his footsteps to come to an abrupt halt.
"From Ashur"
The mention of Ashur had sent shivers down his spine, and he couldn't help but think of the old man's warning.
Rudra seemed to sense Arun's apprehension and said, "I know you are thinking about that old man who told you all that. Not everything, just enough to keep you safe."
"From the Ashur," Rudra replied with a calmness that unnerved Arun even more.
This was all too surreal for him to comprehend. "I didn't get what in the world is going on," he admitted.
"You will soon get it," Rudra replied mysteriously, leaving Arun to ponder over his words.
Rudra's urgent words echoed in the room as he revealed the shocking truth to Arun.
"In the next twenty days, the world is going to end, and Ashur will destroy everything. The vision that you saw earlier was nothing but the reflection of the upcoming reality, and it is going to happen."
Arun's mind was racing as he tried to make sense of it all. "How can you be so certain about it?"
But before Rudra could answer, the ground shook beneath their feet, and the lights flickered once again.
"What do you think, how many times have we are having this conversation?" As Arun tried to process this, the upper part of the room suddenly collapsed on Rudra.